CES: It's All About Taking It with You

Receive the latest tech updates in your inbox

The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid device, which combines LePad, a 10-inch Android-powered tablet (L) with a Windows-powered base station (R), is on display on media preview day at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada January 4, 2010. Currently the IdeaPad U1 is only for sale in China but is due to be released in the US later this year. AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

Yes, you'll see a ton of tablets; thanks to the success of the Apple iPad, the mobile flat panel is back, and seems like it's here to stay. As we prepared to board our flights to the show in Las Vegas, analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies told me we may as well call this "The Tablet Show."

Great Gadget Photos: CES 2011

But there is more. Mobile computing has been heading to your pocket for a few years now, and it says something that apps are getting their own wing at this year's CES. A San Francisco company called Glu Mobile has been stepping into the spotlight with hot selling games you can download for the iPhone and iPad. Glu's stock price has been flying like the bullets in its hot-selling "Gun Brothers" game.

On his way to CES, Glu's executive producer told me, "This is the place to be. This is where the action is."

Nerd Approved: Gadgets at CES 2009

So, alongside giant 3D TV screens -- which haven't been selling all that well -- will be apps the size of your fingernail that have been bringing in steady revenue. Heck, the Angry Bird franchise alone is worth millions. Lots of Vegas-goers can ease their gambling losses Wednesday night by snuggling with an Angry Bird stuffed animal.

As Bajarin told me, "As long as these guys can get the media to pay attention, there's money in it for them."

I guess that qualifies as a good show for the app makers already. I'll have more CES updates here, and on Twitter: @scottbudman